MARIA STEIN— Riverside’s powerful rushing attack met its match here Friday night.
The Pirates, who have been powered this fall by sensational senior tailback Kale Long and a physical offensive front, were limited to 58 rushing yards and 88 total yards in a 48-8 loss to host Marion Local in a Division VII, Region 28 playoff semifinal football game.
“Hats off to Marion Local,” said Riverside head coach Bryce Hodge. “They are who they are. We knew it would be a great challenge for us. We had our backs against the wall all night, but I am proud of our kids for the way they battled in the second half.”
The Flyers, the defending Division VII state champions who have won three Ohio football titles in the last four years, raced to a 35-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
Riverside did come up with a highlight in the second half.
Early in the third quarter as the Flyers looked to be the verge of another touchdown, Long charged forward from his linebacker spot and popped the ball loose from a Marion Local runner. Landon Stewart picked it up at the 1-yard line and returned it for a 99-yard touchdown. The Pirates also scored on a the two-point conversion, with quarterback Myles Platfoot tossing a pass to Walker Whitaker in the end zone for a 35-8 score.
Those were the first points Marion Local gave up since its third game of the season.
The Pirates, who were making their second regional semifinal appearance in school history, also recorded an interception later in the third quarter when Deven Frilling stepped in front of a Flyers pass in the end zone.
“All we talked about at halftime was playing with fight,” said Hodge. “I was a little disappointed at halftime about our lack of fight in the first half. But our kids showed a ton of fight in the second half. I am extremely proud of them for that.”
It was clear from the start that the Flyers were going to do everything in their power to keep Long from beating them. They flooded the box with defenders to stuff running lanes.
Long, who came in with a state-best 1,966 yards on 189 carries, finished with 47 yards on 15 rushes.
Riverside was forced to throw the ball more than it probably preferred and was picked off four times in 14 attempts.
“When you have the leading rusher in the state, you obviously want to give him the ball as much as possible,” said Hodge. “They stacked the box and we had to try to spread them out. It was a tough spot for a freshman quarterback, but Myles (Platfoot) will learn from it and grow from it. He didn’t stop fighting.”
Marion Local’s offense was able to churn out 400 yards, including 292 rushing yards on 35 attempts.
“They are physical up front and they have a bunch of different style backs to keep you off-balance,” said Hodge. “They are tough to stop.”
Riverside was forced to punt after a three-and-out on the first offensive series of the game.
The Flyers took over at their own 46-yard line and put together a quick four-play drive to find the end zone. Dylan Fleck capped it with a 15-yard TD run. The extra-point kick was wide left, leaving the hosts up 6-0 at the 9:05 mark of the opening period.
Marion Local increased its lead to 14-0 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter on a 8-yard touchdown run by Peyton Otte and a two-point conversion run by Grant Meier.
The Flyers blew the game wide open with three second-quarter touchdowns.
Marion Local used a 29-yard TD run by Drew Seitz for a 21-0 lead.
Then Seitz found the end zone on a 5-yard run for a 28-0 advantage with 5:58 left in the first half.
The Flyers tacked on a 5-yard TD pass from Peyton Otte to Charles Huelsman with 44 seconds remaining until halftime.
After Riverside came up with its defensive score at the 9:26 mark of the third quarter, the Flyers answered with a Seitz 4-yard TD run to make the score 42-8 with 5:08 left in the third.
Marion Local capped the scoring with 4:06 remaining in the game on a 5-yard Connor Griesdorn run.
The Flyers will now take on fellow Midwest Athletic Conference member New Bremen in the regional final. New Bremen, which is coached by former Bellefontaine football player and head coach Chris Schmidt, beat Ft. Loramie 16-8 on Friday.
Although their playoff run came to a close Friday, the Pirates still have some football left. They have a regular-season game scheduled for Ben Logan on Friday.
“It’s been a weird year and our kids have the opportunity to finish the season with a win,” said Hodge. “Normally, you have to win a state title to do that. So we want to take advantage of our opportunity and send our seniors out with a win.”